Are the Los Angeles Dodgers a mystery team on Manny Machado?

As we learned that the Manny Machado sweepstakes may have multiple mystery teams, a member of Machado’s own family leaks that a return to the Los Angeles Dodgers may be in the cards.

Friday evening, multiple reports surfaced that Manny Machado doesn’t have just one mystery team involved in his free agent bidding, but he may have multiple “mystery teams” involved beyond the heavily rumored trio of the Chicago White Sox, Philadelphia Phillies, and the New York Yankees. In the same evening, Machado’s father suggested to Dominican journalist Hector Gomez that the Los Angeles Dodgers have made Manny an offer.

When the trade of Yasiel Puig and Matt Kemp was made to the Cincinnati Reds for prospects and the contract of Homer Bailey (who the Dodgers intend to cut), many assumed that the space clearing was to bring in top outfield free agent Bryce Harper to Los Angeles.

In the meantime, the club has acquired catcher Russell Martin, eating up a bit of their available money. That leaves the team with significant money locked into a number of players that fit into just a few spots. The Dodgers could still certainly move someone like Kenta Maeda, but that would only free up $3 million for 2019, and the Dodgers are currently $10 million under luxury tax, nowhere near what would be required for an annual salary of Machado.

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Instead, if the Dodgers are truly involved with Machado, it would be with a unique structure to a deal. The team would likely be setting up the money heavily into the second year of the deal. Next year, the Dodgers will see players who are making roughly $65 million leave in free agency, and with

Cody Bellinger

the biggest name hitting arbitration in the organization, there could be significant money available.

The team could structure an 8-year, $250 million deal something like this (not saying this is the offer, just an idea for structuring purposes):

2019: $7.5 million
2020: $37.5 million
2021: $35 million
2022: $35 million
2023: $35 million
2024: $35 million
2025: $35 million
2026: $30 million

Now, whether that would fly with the Machado camp or not is anyone’s guess, but recent rumors have been that he’s not getting the length of contract desired, so if the Dodgers were creative with the structure over the length of an extended deal, they could bring Manny back.

dark. Next. Padres willing to flip Kluber

Then the question would simply become, would the Los Angeles Dodgers want Manny Machado and Corey Seager alongside one another?

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